Retired priest pleads guilty in sex abuse case

Retired Catholic priest Francis G. DeLuca pleaded guilty in Syracuse City Court this afternoon to charges he sexually molested a teenage boy over a period of four years.

Although the District Attorney's Office was seeking a sentence of probation and six months in jail, Judge Kate Rosenthal promised the 77-year-old DeLuca a sentence of straight probation with no jail time. Sentencing is set for Aug. 27.

DeLuca pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree sexual abuse and two counts each of third-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child for incidents that occurred in 2002, 2004 and 2005 when the same victim was 13, 15 and 16.

DeLuca served as a priest in the Wilmington Diocese in Delaware for 35 years before he was dismissed from public ministry in 1993 after being accused of sexually abusing a minor in the 1960s.